Interesting Facts About Honduras

Honduras is a wonderful country and it has a bustling tourist economy. For conventional tourists, the large cosmopolitan cities, wonderful food, and friendly locals are the main draw. But very few tourists also get to experience Honduras’ quirky, musical, and weird side up close and personal.

Some interesting facts about Honduras that we’ve discovered.

The Fish Rain in Honduras

Yes, you heard us right. It rains fishes in the country. Referred to as Lluvia de Peces or “Rain of Fish,’ the event is said to occur at least once a year in the tiny town of Yoro. No one really knows what causes it but in the 1970’s, the event was recorded by a National Geographic team. The fishy rains still occur and locals point out that the fishes that drop from the skies are not local and they are only native to the Atlantic Ocean located almost 200 kms away!

Music Festivals

Very few tourists know that Honduras has some of the best music festivals in the world. The festivals are large and lively with street parades, great street food, and some of the best local parties. If you have the time, you should try to visit the Semana Santa, The Punta Gorda Festival, the Feria de San Isidro, and the National Garifuna Festival.

Interesting facts about Honduras: Honduras Map

The Sawdust Alfombras of Comayagua

One of the most intriguing events of Honduras are the Sawdust Alfombras of Comayagua. On Good Friday morning, Comayagua locals use colored sawdust to created religious scenes on public streets. Teams of locals work together for hours to create the intricate images but these same images are stamped out immediately when the local priest takes out a procession marking the Stations of the Cross. This is a wonderful event to view and of course, the Easter celebrations that come on the following Sunday are an event to behold as well.

The Lost City of The Monkey God

In March 2015, archeologists stumbled across an entire lost city buried hip-deep in the dense Honduran jungles. The team named the city as the ‘Monkey God City,’ and found sculptures, earthworks, residences, and burial mounds as well. Locals state that the lost city was a mystical Eden or Garden of Paradise where local retreated to hide from foreign invaders. The local legends also state that the city contained hidden reserves of gold and a giant gold statue of the monkey god.

The Beautiful Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve

Honduras has one of the most complex and intricate biospheres in the world. The tropical forests contain some of the rarest plants, animals and birds in the world. The Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve in particular is a UNESCO heritage site and a must-visit even if you don’t like animals, plants, and birds! The site is also home to more than 2000 indigenous tribes that still follow their traditional lifestyle in the biosphere.

Local Legends

For travelers interested in oral lore, Honduran folklore has some of the most interesting legends and stories. Myths about the Las Ciguapas or savage women with supernatural powers, El Sílbon or an omen of death, Los Duendes or infant ghosts who have a naughty intention, and La Llorona, a ghost who drowns children; are all popular oral culture that make for an interesting hearing.

Every country is unique and these are just a few interesting facts we’ve managed to find about Honduras. If you have something else you’d like to share, do write in to us and we will be happy to discuss them here.

71.1 years (2016)
Life expectancy at birth indicates the number of years a newborn infant would live if prevailing patterns of mortality at the time of its birth were to stay the same throughout its life.